The Bloody Promise of a Future
by AnneLaurant
Summary: As she sleeps in Redstone Academy, Taranee's dreams get visited by Yan Lin and learns how corrupt Kandrakar truly is. Set in the third arc of the comics.


Hi, you have mentions of: death, murder, suicide, corruption, and... that's about it. Also I wanted to explain why Taranee left and rejoined the team without much ado from Kandrakar, compared to the way they made a fuss about Nerissa's betrayal.

* * *

"Taranee."

The call of her name woke the girl, and she reached for her glasses. She felt none of the furniture that should've been there, or even the pillow and blanket that supported her sleep.

Taranee jolted upwards, eyes wide open, but the light blinded her.

"H-hey...!"

"Taranee. Don't be afraid. It's me, Yan Lin."

Taranee struggled to open her eyes and let them adjust to the light. She was met with the clear image of Yan Lin's sorrowful face...

Oh, right! The gift of XinJing fixed that near-sighted vision that Taranee didn't have much of a problem with.

"Honorable Yan Lin," she groaned, "What is going on here?"

"I only want to talk."

Taranee nodded and stood. "Is there something the matter?"

Yan Lin smiled. "Nothing, really. I just really want to talk. About the guardians. About my own experiences. A little bit about Nerissa, too."

The Fire Guardian frowned.

Yan Lin waved to existence two chairs to sit upon. Surprised, Taranee looked around.

"Don't worry. We're meeting in your dreams, Taranee," Yan Lin explained. "To be honest, I can't really do this outside of... right now."

Taranee nodded and sat. This seemed serious.

Yan Lin took a deep breath. "To be honest with you, I have no idea where to start. Should I start with some history, with Nerissa and her betrayal? Should I start with how it was for me to work with non-guardians from various planets, or should I tell you how I felt when you decided to quit?"

Oh. So it was all about that. Guilt tugged on Taranee's tongue, but her sense of righteousness and justice assured her, it was the right choice.

But, Yan Lin continued. "I should probably start with Nerissa."

Taranee nodded.

"The Oracle might tell you it was madness, but in retrospect, I think... I think Nerissa found some good reason to betray Kandrakar. Kadma was this close to joining her, too."

"And what reason would that be?"

"She saw errors in the way Kandrakar handled the guardians. She'd tell me such things. I was her best friend, and I heard all her sighs. Kandrakar should've trained us. They should've given us expectations, gave us information on how the universe was doing. We should've known what to do with our powers, so we wouldn't accidentally kill people, especially the important ones."

"That seems reasonable enough..."

"Yes, but, we were all afraid of siding with her. Brave, brave Nerissa. She fought all alone."

"And then Cassidy..."

"Cassidy was the casualty we could've all avoided." Yan Lin wiped her eyes. "Nerissa killed Cassidy not only because of her loyalty, but also, her guilt."

"Whose guilt?"

"Cassidy's." Yan Lin smiled. "She and Nerissa... loved each other so much. But Cassidy couldn't see Nerissa fall to despair, because Kandrakar couldn't give us peace of mind. I'm not sure how rational their decision was, but in a way, you could say it was assisted suicide. Cassidy manipulated Nerissa to kill her."

"But didn't she think Kandrakar would banish Nerissa?"

"She thought they could remove Nerissa from guardianhood, but that is not the case. The dragons cannot select new guardians until the old ones become incapacitated - old, and sickly, like I'd been! Or until they all die."

"Yikes." Kandrakar didn't tell them that, but that sounds horrible.

"Yes. It was all a mistake on Cassidy's part..." Yan Lin sighed. "Well, after that, Kadma got tired of Kandrakar's attitude, Hallinor followed her in grief, and I... I was left. I was left to deal with missions all by myself, with teammates that get replaced almost every after mission, because..." Her sorrowful eyes gave Taranee a very grave stare. "They would get killed."

"And Kandrakar allowed that?!"

"And I fear that, if things don't change, your friends' new teammate, the warrior Orube..." Yan Lin closed her eyes and sniffed.

Taranee stood and her fire surrounded them. "I won't allow Kandrakar to continue with this farce!"

"Taranee, listen!" Yan Lin sobbed and held onto Taranee's arms. "You can't! You can't do anything against them right now. You can't..."

"Yan Lin, if there's any time to fight, it should be now. You're in Kandrakar. And my friends are serving this corrupt agency. We can work together. We can correct the wrongs!"

"But, I'm afraid!"

Yan Lin hugged her and sobbed against her chest. The fury in Taranee's chest waned, and her fire went out. She stroked the elder's hair and sat once more.

"I'm afraid, Taranee... I'm afraid... I'm afraid that our actions will only lead to more deaths. I can't bear to see any more guardians die in front of me. I can't bear to see my granddaughter die for this corrupt court of Kandrakar! I didn't even get to say goodbye to Hallinor. And I can never show my face to Kadma ever again! But I can't walk away! If I walk away now..."

"Honorable Yan Lin..."

"And I regret, oh how I deeply regret never joining any of them. Kadma and Hallinor... or Nerissa... if I had done something back then, if only I had done something back then, then Cassidy wouldn't die!"

Yan Lin cried more.

Taranee closed her eyes. What could they do in this precious time, while Kandrakar made sacrificial meatbags out of them?

"...Honorable Yan Lin... one day. One day, I'll... I'll rejoin the guardians."

Yan Lin's sobs softened to whimpers.

"I'll join them, and I'll protect them. I'll protect them from the abuses of Kandrakar's system. I'll protect your granddaughter, and everyone else. Even that warrior, Orube."

Yan Lin nodded.

"In return, please... please fight as well as you could, so you can become the next Oracle, and put order to Kandrakar."

Yan Lin whipped her head. "...but... I don't know if I'm strong enough."

Taranee knew the feeling. "Me neither. But if nobody else would do it, who would?"

Indeed. Who would the universe depend on, if not them, the guardians?

Then Taranee woke up. She couldn't sense Yan Lin any longer, and she was back in the dormitory at Redstone Academy. It was still dark, but the Yan Lin's revelations and their promises kept Taranee awake.

Yan Lin had to become Oracle. Taranee would protect the guardians.

They only had each other to depend on. No more, no less.


End file.
